OPENING LETTERS > FROM THE EDITORS

My ranch faces the eastern flank of the Florida Mountains; this desolate side of the range is hidden from the town of Deming, New Mexico, which only knows its western face. The undulating foothills above the ranch sprout surreal rock formations several stories high, ideal for bouldering and ripe for exploration. These foothills quickly give way to steep inclines and a sharp spine of ragged peaks that ultimately define the profile of the Floridas: 12 miles of rock bursting wildly—like a living thing—from the calm, flat sea of desert surrounding it. Where those foothills transition to slopes, there is a wide draw that narrows to a slender canyon. This canyon leads to a hidden arroyo. In its folds and creases are cold springs that drip from the rocks, creating microbiomes and microclimates; there are plants, insects, and animals here that can’t be found anywhere else in the region.

Whenever Jeff and I venture into this place, we climb and explore together for a while, but, inevitably, we drift apart. After an eternity of silence, one of us will suddenly appear on a peak, and the other one will notice, 50 yards away perhaps, from the vantage of a sheltered ledge freshly commandeered as a reading nook. This can go on until our canteens are almost dry. There is never any talking, but whenever we a fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of each other, we exchange a broad smile. It is a secret smile, from one thief to another—an acknowledgement that we have stolen our way into a place where people should not be, a place so ancient and remote that the fabric of time and space surrounding it seems to shimmer translucent, a place where the veil between worlds and lives is palpably thin.

So, as our hemisphere’s fall settles into winter—dear readers—we hope that you can warm each other with similar secret smiles after stealing away to the many worlds, and exploring the many lives, that our contributors have so gracefully created for you in Issue 22.

When the light outside begins to wane, and we find ourselves turning toward the collective hearth of the ether, never forget that language gives us the power to resurrect the past, define the present, and create the future. Language is the sword and compass of human imagination, one of the few things that separates us from other animals. We believe in the power of reading and writing, and we believe that art can make a difference in people’s lives. Our constellation of over 115,000 readers in 145 countries, and over 700 published contributors, are fearless inward explorers and brave outward adventurers. They believe in the love that can be found in our shared humanity—even, and especially, during these dark hours. That’s what sustains us. That’s what propels us forward into the unknown with every issue.

So welcome to Sky Island Journal—where the desert meets the mountains, where the indigenous meets the exotic, and the old ways meet the digital frontier.

Of the 1,734 individual pieces that we received from around the world for Issue 22, we found these 53 to be the finest. Enjoy.

Respectfully,

Jason Splichal, Co-Founder and Co-Editor-in-Chief

Earlier this fall, I took a camping trip with my brother just north of Green Bay, Wisconsin. During the day, we took hikes through the Navarino State Wildlife Area, cast a few lines while fishing in various lakes, and enjoyed a kayak float down the Wolf River. We both grew up in Wisconsin, and even in our adulthood we find there is more and more to explore in our home state. Discovery and beauty is around every corner. When I think about the Wolf River, with every bend in the river, we never knew what the next vantage point would look like or what wildlife would greet us. Once we were on the water, there was no turning back--one vehicle was parked upstream, with a second one waiting for us many miles down river. As a result, a sense of adventure and commitment accompanied the trip. Thinking about it now, I find there is something beautiful about the opportunity to be surprised in a world where so much is constantly at our fingertips. Information is available with the click of a button, but understanding requires more thought, dedication, and immersion.

In some ways, I think that is why we chose to have each piece in Sky Island Journal open as a protected Word document, free from distracting advertising or additional links. It encourages full engagement, focus, and commitment to the literary world found within its lines. Like the unknown bends in the river, the works found here will surprise, delight, and challenge readers, providing emotional and intellectual transport from writers whose voices come from all over the globe.

Speaking of voices, in the evenings back at our campsite, my brother and I told old stories, laughed, and caught up, with our voices bouncing off of White Lake. At times, we invited authors via Bluetooth speaker to read their stories out loud to us. I had a version of Neil Gaiman's short story, "Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains," which runs over an hour, and we sat enveloped by the vivid tale of travel and darkness while huddled around our campfire. We also listened to a recent episode of Sky Island Journal's Voices from the Sky podcast, where Linda Hegland offers a reading of her creative nonfiction piece, "Dark." It felt good to listen and allow these voices to deliver their literary works out loud precisely how they intended the words to sound when they set them on the page.

It has been an honor over the past several weeks to feature some of our favorite pieces since the journal's inception through the Voices from the Sky podcast. Recently, I had the unique pleasure of connecting with three of our newest contributors to record special episodes where readers can hear these writers and their freshly-published works. If you have not had a chance to do so already, please check out this new project and allow the ideas and stories found within the recordings to find a place in your mind and heart. You can listen for free on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get podcasts. You can also click this link to start listening to previous episodes today and be on the lookout for upcoming episodes, including the special Issue 22 features coming soon: https://www.skyislandjournal.com/voices-from-the-sky-podcast

Thank you for joining us here at Sky Island Journal, and enjoy Issue 22!

Respectfully,

Jeff Sommerfeld, Co-Founder and Co-Editor-in-Chief

Adrianna Sanchez-Lopez > Flash Fiction > Colorado, USA

Adrianna Sanchez-Lopez (she/her) resides in Colorado. Her recent writing has appeared or is forthcoming in The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts, Five Minutes, Prose Online, The Headlight Review, Sky Island Journal, and elsewhere. She currently serves as an Associate Fiction Editor for West Trade Review.

Amanda Leal > Poetry > Florida, USA

Amanda Leal is a 29-year-old poet from Lake Worth, Florida. Her work is featured in publications such as White Wall Review, West Trade Review, Haunted Waters Press, Pine Row Press, Sky Island Journal, and others.

Amy Marques > Flash Fiction > Brazil + California, USA

Amy Marques grew up between languages and cultures and learned, from an early age, the multiplicity of narratives. She penned three children’s books, barely read medical papers, and numerous letters before turning to short fiction. Her work has been published in anthologies and journals including Star82 Review, Jellyfish Review, MoonPark Review, Flying South, Streetcake: Experimental Writing Magazine, and Sky Island Journal. 

Angela Williamson Emmert > Poetry > Wisconsin, USA

Angela Williamson Emmert lives in rural Wisconsin with her husband and sons.

Barun Saha > Poetry > India

Barun Saha is a senior researcher living in Bangalore, India. He has a PhD degree in Computer Science and Engineering. His poems are published in around a dozen journals, such as Ribbons, Star*Line, and The Cherita. Barun is a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association.

Carly Taylor > Poetry > Kentucky, USA

Carly Taylor was born and raised in Kentucky. She is currently a senior at Stanford University majoring in Comparative Literature with a concentration in translation studies. A former managing editor of The Stanford Daily Arts & Life section, she now writes copy for Polygence and reviews books on her Instagram blog @unsolicitedbookpics. Her fiction has appeared in 30 North and Sagebrush Review. This is her first poetry publication.

Christian Knoeller > Poetry > Indiana, USA

Christian Knoeller is Professor Emeritus of English at Purdue University. His first collection of poems, Completing the Circle from Buttonwood Press, was awarded the Millennium Prize. A Past President of the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature, he also received their Gwendolyn Brooks Prize for Poetry.  His most recent book, Reimagining Environmental History was published by the University of Nevada Press (2017).  Current projects included a sequel on environmental history, Revisiting Wild America, and a collection of poems entitled Time Signatures. 

Cristina Legarda > Poetry > Massachusetts, USA

Cristina Legarda was born in the Philippines and spent her early childhood there before moving to Bethesda, Maryland. She is now a practicing physician in Boston, Massachusetts. Her work has appeared in America magazine, The Dewdrop, Plainsongs, FOLIO, Ruminate, The Good Life Review, and others. 

Daniela Paraguya Sow > Poetry > California, USA

Daniela Paraguya Sow (she/her) is a Filipina & Romanian American poet and serves as an Assistant Professor of English at Grossmont College. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from San Diego State University. Her writing has appeared or is forthcoming in Mixed Asian Media, Amphora Magazine, The Lumiere Review, City Works Press, The Hyacinth Review, and elsewhere.

Doug Jacquier > Flash Fiction > Australia

Doug Jacquier's writing meanders amongst the peaks and the swamps of various forms of short story, flash fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, from the lunatic to the lucid. For readers prepared to come along for the ride, he likes to make them think, laugh, cry, or groan (and, sometimes, all of the above). His poems and stories have been published in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. He blogs at Six Crooked Highways.

Erin Olson > Poetry > Wisconsin, USA

Erin Olson is a licensed professional counselor and former teacher. She lives in southeastern Wisconsin with her husband, son, cat, and a burgeoning suburban permaculture garden. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Neologism Poetry Journal and Last Leaves Magazine.

Evangeline Sanders > Poetry > Alabama, USA

Evangeline Sanders is an MFA student at the University of Alabama and an Assistant Editor for the Black Warrior Review. She is a Charleston, South Carolina native and graduate of Clemson University, where she received BAs in Psychology and Modern Languages. Her poems have recently appeared in the Anthology of Lowcountry Poets and Poetry Super Highway.

Greg Rapier > Creative Nonfiction > Florida, USA

Greg Rapier is a writer and pastor. He has degrees in English and Film and is currently getting his doctorate in Creative Writing and Public Theology (Yeah, that’s a thing). You can find his work at places like The Nervous Breakdown, Fathom, and The Princeton Theological Review. 

James K. Zimmerman > Poetry > New York, USA

James K. Zimmerman's writing appears in Atlanta Review, Chautauqua, Folio, Lumina, Nimrod, Pleiades, Rattle, Salamander, Sky Island Journal, and elsewhere. He is author of Little Miracles (Passager Books) and Family Cookout (Comstock), winner of the Jessie Bryce Niles Prize.

Jason Brightwell > Poetry > Maryland, USA

Jason Brightwell lives in a tiny resort town tucked along the Chesapeake Bay where he finds himself routinely haunted by one thing or another. He holds a BS in Forensic Studies and an MFA in Creative Writing. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in journals including Gravel Magazine, East Coast Literary Review, Phantom Kangaroo, and The Tower, among others.

Jen Schneider > Poetry > Pennsylvania, USA

Jen Schneider is an educator who lives, writes, and works in small spaces throughout Pennsylvania. Recent works include A Collection of Recollections, Invisible Ink, On Habits & Habitats, and Blindfolds, Bruises, and Breakups. She is the 2022-2023 Montgomery County (PA) Poet Laureate.

Jeniya Mard > Poetry > Michigan, USA

Jeniya Mard grew up in Metro Detroit, Michigan, and has a passion for writing strange, thought-provoking pieces of fiction and poetry. She has been writing for years and loves to push the boundaries of what traditional writing looks and feels like, often writing about topics some tend to steer away from, pieces that make a reader uncomfortable in curiosity; wonder, but she embraces the challenge. Her fiction focuses heavily on the dark corners of reality we tend to try and ignore, and her poetry often reflects the nature of the human spirit. She has had her writing published in Mistake House Magazine, Quirk Magazine, The Central Review, and others. 

Jeremy Dixon > Flash Fiction > United Kingdom

Jeremy Dixon lives near the Yorkshire coast in the United Kingdom where he works as a builder. Having always been a passionate amateur, he's now trying to take his writing more seriously, recently graduating with a B.A in English Literature and Creative Writing from The Open University. He teaches creative writing night classes and has been published in the Glittery Literary Anthology Four.

Jolene Won > Poetry > Illinois, USA

Jolene Won (she/her) is a fourth-year medical student, poet, and writer currently based in Chicago, Illinois.  Born and raised in Oakland, California, Jolene’s writing has been featured by SUNY Upstate’s The Healing Muse, Hektoen International Journal of Medical Humanities, and Medium.com. When she’s not writing, Jolene can be found dancing lindy hop, arranging a cappella music, whistling at birds, or seeking out good croissants.

Jonathan Odell > Creative Nonfiction > Minnesota, USA

Jonathan Odell is author of three novels. His first, The View from Delphi, (Macadam Cage 2004) deals with the struggle for equality in pre-civil rights Mississippi, his home state. In 2012, Random House published his second, The Healing, which explores the power of a story to free a people, set on a slave plantation in the Mississippi Delta. A third novel, Miss Hazel and the Rosa Parks League, was released by Maiden Lane Press, February 2015. His essays appear in various publications including New York Times, Commonweal, The Bitter Southerner, Minnesota Monthly, Salon, and Alternet. Odell presently lives in Minnesota with his husband.

Katy Luxem > Poetry > Utah, USA

Katy Luxem grew up in Seattle and studied creative writing at the University of Washington. Her work has appeared in Rattle, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Poetry Online, The National Poetry Review, Appalachian Review, and others. She currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her partner, three kids, and dogs. In her free time, she enjoys pickleball.

Lee Potts > Poetry > Pennsylvania, USA

Lee Potts, author of And Drought Will Follow (Frosted Fire, 2021), is poetry editor at Barren Magazine. His work has appeared in The Night Heron Barks, Rust + Moth, Whale Road Review, UCity Review, Firmament, Gargoyle Magazine, and elsewhere. He lives just outside of Philadelphia.

Lindsay Rockwell > Poetry > Massachusetts, USA

Lindsay Rockwell is poet-in-residence for the Episcopal Church of Connecticut as well as host for their Poetry and Social Justice Dialogue series. She has been published, or is forthcoming in, Connecticut River Review, Amethyst Review, Iron Horse Literary Review, Birmingham Arts Journal, among others. She won first prize in the October Project Poetry Contest, 2020, and the 81st Moon Prize from Writing in a Woman’s Voice, 2021. Lindsay also holds a Master of Dance and Choreography from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and is an oncologist.

Lorrie Ness > Poetry > Virginia, USA

Originally from Indiana, Lorrie Ness currently lives and writes in Virginia, where she takes her inspiration from the outdoors. When not writing, she can be found hiking, birding and otherwise digging in the dirt or disappearing into the woods. Her work can be found at numerous online journals including Palette Poetry, THRUSH, Typishly, The Shore, and Sky Island Journal. Her chapbook, Anatomy of a Wound was published in 2021 by Flowstone Press.

Matt Hohner > Poetry > Maryland, USA

Matt Hohner is an editor for Loch Raven Review. His work has appeared in The Moth, takahē, Prairie Schooner, New Contrast, Narrative Magazine, The Cardiff Review, and many other publications. Hohner’s first collection, Thresholds and Other Poems was published by Apprentice House in 2018. His second poetry collection is forthcoming from Salmon Poetry in 2023. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

Nicholas Trandahl > Poetry > Wyoming, USA

Nicholas Trandahl is a U.S. Army veteran, poet, newspaper journalist, and outdoorsman. He lives in Wyoming with his wife and three daughters. He was the recipient of the 2019 Wyoming Writers Milestone Award and was nominated for the 2021 Pushcart Prize. He has published four collections of poetry, most recently Mountain Song, and his poems have appeared in various anthologies and literary journals.

Nicole Rollender > Poetry > New Jersey, USA

A 2017 New Jersey Council on the Arts poetry fellow, Nicole Rollender is the author of the poetry collection, Louder Than Everything You Love (Five Oaks Press), and four poetry chapbooks. She has won poetry prizes from Palette Poetry, Gigantic Sequins, CALYX Journal and Ruminate Magazine. Her work appears in Alaska Quarterly Review, Best New Poets, Ninth Letter, Puerto del Sol, Salt Hill Journal and West Branch, among many other journals. Nicole holds an MFA from the Pennsylvania State University. She’s also co-founder and CEO of Strand Writing Services.

Pepper Trail > Poetry > Oregon, USA

Pepper Trail's environmental writing appears regularly in Writers on the Range, and his poetry has appeared in Sky Island Journal, Rattle, Atlanta Review, About Place Journal, Catamaran, and elsewhere. His collection, Cascade-Siskiyou: Poems, was a finalist for the 2016 Oregon Book Award in Poetry. Recently retired from a career as a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, he lives in Ashland, Oregon.

Phillip Sterling > Flash Fiction > Michigan, USA

Phillip Sterling is the author of two collections of short fiction, In Which Brief Stories Are Told (Wayne State U Press) and Amateur Husbandry (Mayapple Press), two collections of poetry, And Then Snow (Main Street Rag) and Mutual Shores (New Issues) and five chapbook-length series of poems, the most recent of which, Short on Days, was released from Main Street Rag in June 2020 (after months of quarantine). He counts among his awards a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, two Fulbright Awards (Belgium and Poland), a PEN Syndicated Fiction Award, and Artist Residencies at both Isle Royale National Park and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

Rose Mary Boehm > Poetry > Peru

Rose Mary Boehm is a German-born British national living and writing in Lima, Peru, and the author of two novels as well as six poetry collections. Her poetry has been published widely in mostly US poetry reviews (online and print). She was twice nominated for a Pushcart. Do Oceans Have Underwater Borders? (Kelsay Books, July 2022) and Whistling in the Dark (Taj Mahal Publishing House, July 2022) are both available on Amazon.

Sam Fouts > Flash Fiction > Ohio, USA

Sam Fouts grew up in the Cleveland area and is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in creative writing at Miami University. When he's not writing, he's probably playing video games or eating grilled cheese.

Shanna Yetman > Flash Fiction > Illinois, USA

Shanna Yetman is an environmental writer and Latina living in Chicago. She enjoys character-driven fiction with a social-justice edge. Her writing has centered around motherhood, and now, the climate crisis and how we can reimagine our planet’s future. Her flash fiction has most recently been published in Cheap Pop, Moon Park Review, Reflex Fiction, and the Daily Drunk. She is an editor at Flash Fiction Magazine. 

Shannon Huffman Polson > Poetry > France

Shannon Huffman Polson writes in all genres, wrestling to find beauty in a broken world. Her poetry is published in Emerge Journal, War, Literature and the Arts, and The Wrath Bearing Tree; her essays appear in Riverteeth, The Utne Reader, Ruminate and more; her books include North of Hope: A Daughter’s Arctic Journey, and The Grit Factor: Courage, Resilience, and Leadership in the Most Male Dominated Organization in the World, as well as a book of essays, The Way the Wild Gets Inside. She and her family currently live in France.

Susan Su > Poetry > China

Susan Su is an eighteen-year-old poet from China. Her poems have been published in Autumn Sky Daily, Neologism Poetry Journal, YAWP, Trouvaille Review, Anti-Heroin Chic, Eunoia Review, and others.

Tara Williams > Flash Fiction > Oregon, USA

Tara Williams lives in Portland, Oregon and works in a national forest. Her writing and photography have appeared in Calyx, Southwest Review, Entropy, Fatal Flaw Lit, The Weird Reader III, Apparition Literary Magazine, and the new climate fiction anthology Fire & Water: Stories of the Anthropocene (Black Lawrence Press, 2021), among others. She earned her MFA in Fiction at Fresno State University.

Tawnya Gibson > Creative Nonfiction > Utah, USA

Tawnya Gibson is a freelance writer and hobby photographer who grew up in the high desert of southwest New Mexico.  She received her degree in journalism and communications from Utah State University. You can hear her on her monthly slice of life essay column for Utah Public Radio entitled She Goes On.  She currently lives and works in the mountains of Northern Utah, but her New Mexican roots still occasionally bleed through her work.

Tina Lentz-McMillan > Poetry > Arizona, USA

Tina Lentz-McMillan is a Filipina/-American/Mestiza poet whose poetry centers mixed identity. She is an MFA candidate at Queens University of Charlotte. Her current work focuses on how this identity can be othering from both sides and interrogates how colonialism can manifest as intergenerational trauma. Symbols manifest, recur, and change across her body of work to engage the reader in mythmaking. She lives in the lands of the Tohono O’odham and Pascua Yaqui Tribe, also known as Tucson, Arizona, with her partner and their dog and cat. Next creative steps are exploring a Borderless Poetic.

Wren Jones > Poetry > Canada

Wren Jones is a writer and outdoor enthusiast, often found/lost walking the ravines of Toronto, Canada. She’s currently studying at Simon Fraser University’s, in The Writers Studio. Her work has been shared in Untethered, The Embrace of Dawn and Grand Little Things.